Our Five Favorite International Trips

While on the train back from Triberg, Greg and I thought about our five favorite trips we've taken together in the last two years. We have wonderful memories and great stories from all of our trips, but here are the most special ones:

Croatia

Island of Cres

If I could talk about Croatia every day to everyone I see, I would. But then I would be one of the "crazies" so I withhold from doing so. The parts of this country we saw were absolutely beautiful and fairly untouched by tourism, unlike Italy and Greece. Although the language is a problem, I envy the people who live there.

The coastline and Plitvices park were so gorgeous, and there are tons of great old cities to explore as well. My mouth still waters when I think about the grapes, tomatoes and cucumbers I ate there - it felt like someone had just picked them off the plant and handed them to me. I still sometimes say to myself if I eat an average grape in Germany, "it's just not like Croatia."

If you're looking for a sunny holiday off the beaten path, go to Croatia!

Budapest

If you've seen quite a bit of Europe - as we have over the years - old buildings and churches start to look the same, or you've already seen what you consider the most beautiful church and none of the others can compare. The reason I'm saying this is because I think this was our mindframe when we arrived in Budapest. We had just left Vienna, which is a beautiful classic European city, and Budapest hit us with a solid dose of reality.

It may not be a city for everyone, but we loved it. The atmosphere, the resourcefulness of the people, the kindness of people in helping us find our way around... it just felt so different from Western Europe. Or indeed, any other country we'd been to.

Istanbul

Talking about something different from Western Europe, Istanbul was it, for sure! We went here for our first anniversary (our second was in Lindau, which is in Germany - that list is coming soon). I wish we had time to explore other areas of Turkey because it sounds like each part is very different. I especially hope to get to the ruins in the East at some point in my life.

Having been to a Muslim country when I was small (and Greg had never been to one before), we were struck by the beautiful minerats and mosques everywhere. There must have been at least 30 on the hills around our quaint little hotel. Parts of the city were crumbling, but the palace grounds and the museums were still very much there. And I won't go on again on how much the Islamic designs inspire me with their beauty. I'm sure you all had about enough of that already.

Prague

Prague seems to be everyone's favorite and for good reason. The city is so lovely whatever the season. Even when we went in winter, the snow on the ground gave Prague this mystery and warmth. Greg went with his parents in the summer and they seemed to all like it for the nice cafes along the river and easy walking distances. Another of our friends went in the spring and meet great new friends randomly. Everyone seems to find something that they enjoy in the city.

Salzburg
Last on our list is Salzburg, but not because we liked it the least. It's only 2 hours from Munich so we went there a lot the first year. The city is touristy, but in a way, I never minded it. The walk up to the castle gives one such a great overlook as to why people go there. The beautiful little old town stretches out below you and you may even make out the palace grounds to your left.

Last time we went there, I visited the art museum on the hill and I think the walks along the cliffs were more fun for me then than checking out the art. And of course, who can forget the Sound of Music tour?

 We'll also be doing a post about our top five favorite trips just in Germany so stay tuned!

Istanbul Art Inspirations

I hope you all are getting a good (if not somewhat roundabout) idea of what our trip was like in Istanbul. One thing I was surprised about was how much I felt inspired as a craftster by the artwork we saw everyday in Istanbul. I took these photos from objects that inspired me in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. I plan to use them in my latest crafty endeavors--embroidery! I think the interlocking geometric shapes and complex designs could have some really cool uses in hand stitching. I'll make sure to showcase some of my completed projects here in the next few weeks.

And here's my favorite take-home inspiration of all--the beautiful embroidered teal scarf I picked up.

Traveling to a Muslim Country

On day one, the nearby mosques' minerats with their loud blasts of pre-dawn calls to prayer seemed like they would put a damper on our trip. By the morning of day two, I didn't even hear them. We had so many mosques near our hotel, it was unreal. I could count 4 spires from our room, 11 from the rooftop breakfast area. Neither of us had ever traveled to a Muslim country (although I had been to Jordan when I was much younger, but don't remember much of the differences). Naturally, we had preconceptions of what it would be like.

Minerats accentuating the Blue Mosque

Hearing different views from people who've traveled there, we didn't really know what to expect. Could we hold hands on the street? Would men harass at me if I didn't wear a headscarf? Could Greg get a beer at dinner? The answers: yes, no, yes.

Although Turkey is a Muslim country, Istanbul is very cosmopolitan. We saw plenty of women with headscarves, but there also were many who dressed just like we do in the States. People mostly drank tea, but there were those who drank alcohol. Almost everyone we interacted with knew multiple languages and was very friendly. Obviously, we stood out as foreigners, but we were never so different that we stopped traffic. In fact, I would say we got a healthy fill of jay-walking, which is heavily frowned upon in Munich.

The one thing I treasured from this trip was not only how different a Muslim country could be, but also how inspiring and refreshing it was to be there.